“It was just a laxative,” Vivi offered gently. “It wasn’t really poison and it didn’t hurt me.”
“You only ate half a bowl. What if you’d eaten the whole thing?” Wolfe spat out. “What if you’d been so weak afterward that you’d fainted and hit your head? She could have made you very ill.”
Aleki felt horrified just thinking about it. Once more they hadn’t protected her. This couldn’t keep happening.
“Oh, don’t mistake my calm for condoning what she did,” Caleb told Wolfe with a ferocity that surprised Aleki.
It obviously surprised Vivi as well as she turned big eyes on Caleb.
“I want her brought in,” Caleb said. “I want her questioned.”
Wolfe nodded. “I’ve already put in the request with Beta Team to bring her in and inform us when they have her.”
“I need to speak to Kassim,” Caleb said, frowning. “This breach in security is our fault. She should never have been hired on.”
“There was nothing in her background or reports that indicated any instability,” Aleki told them. “How was this missed?”
“Maybe she’s never done something like this before,” Caleb offered. “Perhaps there was something that set her off. Pushed her over that edge. Something that we did.”
“But it was Genevieve she attempted to hurt,” Wolfe pointed out. “Could Marilyn have something to do with her father?”
Caleb shook his head. “It doesn’t seem likely. Like you said, she didn’t have time to plan this. And if Vivi’s father was trying to harm her then it wouldn’t have been with a laxative. No, this feels more spur-of-the-moment.”
“She had the hots for all of you,” Vivi told them.
They all frowned at her. Then Wolfe’s face cleared. “She flirted with Aleki and Caleb. That’s when you decided I was your favorite because I didn’t pay her any attention. I have always told the two of you that you should be more like me.”
Aleki just snorted. “We didn’t flirt with her. I’ve never in any way led her on. If she thought there would or could be anything between us then that’s some delusion she has cooked up.”
“Guys, don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Vivi said gently, looking around at the three of them.
Aleki shook his head and turned to Wolfe and Caleb. “We need to protect her better.”
“Fuck yes, we do,” Wolfe added.
“She’s obviously got something wrong with her,” Vivi told them. “We should find her some support or something.”
His soft-hearted baby girl. This is why she needed them. He could see that more clearly now. She’d help everyone if she could. She might have sequestered herself away, but hadn’t she done everything that her father and husband had demanded from her to protect them?
“We need to lock her up somewhere dark and nasty. Then fucking leave her there to rot,” Wolfe said darkly.
“Amen to that,” Aleki added.
“Guys,” she said. She turned to look at Caleb. “Caleb, tell them they’re overreacting.” She stared at Caleb, obviously expecting him to be the voice of reason.
“They are absolutely not overreacting.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Caleb!”
“Once she’s brought in, hold her in interrogation for a while. Let her wait. It will make her nervous and unsure.”
“Caleb!” she said again.
“After we talk to her, we’ll decide what to do.”
“Can’t you just fire her?” she asked, sounding confused.
Aleki shook his head then lifted her into his arms, worried about her standing for so long on her foot. He set her on his hip. Fuck yes. This was where she was meant to be. Right with him.